Google and Mastercard Look to Lauch NFC Payments

This entry was posted on March 31, 2011 by Pure Mobile.

NFC payments are undoubtedly the next big thing. Imagine being able to pay for things at your local grocery store right from your cell phone. There are a number of services that have already inhabited the space, but the deal between Google and Mastercard should be one of the largest and should connect the Google Checkout program with the capabilities of Mastercard as a company.

The deal should allow for NFC access to come to a number of future Android releases. Access could even be granted to current models of phones that have the features required to run the NFC technology.

It looks as though the service will work by receiving the shopping cart info from the customers who are making the purchase from a smart device, and also allows them to set up their shipping options. Google will also be behind naming the total cost of the order. Then, Google will be responsible for collecting the payment. This will allow for google to get a look at exactly what the customers are buying, which might be a bit of a scary thing for some. The amount of data that Google has access to is already huge, but having direct information about purchases that users make through their NFC technology would provide them with another huge helping of valuable information.

Their service would differ from PayPal and other similar services because they typically will just exchange information with other merchants. In a day and age where everyone is worried about privacy, a deal as large as this may need some approval from government agencies before being allowed. Look for more information to be passed along regarding this issue in the near future. The trend is one that is steadily growing, and you can expect other companies to take a look at NFC technology moving forward as well.